Seal Pool Underwater - Lauwersoog, Netherlands

Seals glide past at eye level on this underwater camera in a rehabilitation pool at Lauwersoog harbor, on the Wadden Sea coast in the north of the Netherlands. For these seals it's the last stop before freedom.

They were found injured, sick or orphaned along the coast, and by this stage they're nearly ready to go home to the Wadden Sea (Waddenzee), a UNESCO World Heritage Site just a short distance away.

Underwater is where seals stop looking clumsy, with slow spiraling turns, long pauses between breaths and sudden bursts of speed across the pool. Harbor seals can stay under for up to about half an hour, though most dives last just a few minutes.

Did You Know? A harbor seal’s whiskers can track the invisible wake a fish leaves in the water, even half a minute after it has swum past. In murky water, that matters more than eyesight.

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